Episode 322 -- Checking in on Caremark Cases
As courts have recognized, "[t]he fact that a company has suffered a security breach does not demonstrate that the company did not place significant emphasis on maintaining a high level of security."1 Nevertheless, companies...more
On June 17, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari on Nvidia’s appeal of the Ninth Circuit’s decision to revive a shareholder class action lawsuit against the company. The Supreme Court will consider the appropriate...more
A recent decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit highlights the “heightened and demanding standard” required to plead securities fraud under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act (PSLRA). In affirming...more
Consumer perception evidence is necessary for plaintiffs to survive summary judgment in a false advertising class action, but vacillating and flawed connections between the evidence and the key question of what a reasonable...more
Delaware court declines to enforce restrictive covenants in LLC agreement but grants interlocutory appeal. In Sunder Energy v. Jackson, et al., a company, Sunder, sued a former employee, Jackson, for breaching a...more
On November 27, a landmark PFAS decision by the Sixth Circuit effectively dismissed a statewide class action for lack of standing. This potentially sets the stage for a new era of PFAS litigation, where historically general...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Matney v. Barrick Gold of North America, et al. on Sept. 6, 2023, finding that participants in an employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan...more
On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit issued its opinion in Hughes v. Northwestern University, concluding that participants in two Northwestern 403(b) plans plausibly pled fiduciary-breach claims based on...more
A federal court in Wisconsin recently allowed a putative ERISA class action in Lucero v. Credit Union Ret. Plan Ass’n to proceed to discovery on the claim that a 401(k) plan paid excessive recordkeeping fees. This decision...more
Key Points - The 9th Circuit, disagreeing again with the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 11th Circuits, reaffirmed that claims under Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act do not require a showing of scienter. In the 9th...more
One of the first significant class certification-related decisions of 2023 comes from the Fifth Circuit. While some trial courts hesitate to strike class action allegations on the pleadings, the district court here concluded...more
Class Certification - Central District of California Denies Class Certification in Securities Fraud Action Concerning Company’s Purchase of ADRs - Stoyas v. Toshiba Corp., No. 2:15-cv-04194 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 7, 2022) - ...more
The year 2021 marks the 10th anniversary of the Bradley False Claims Act Year in Review. In that decade, much has remained the same in FCA enforcement. To start with the obvious: It continues to result in billions of dollars...more
Federal Reserve Hints at Government-Backed Cryptocurrency; Third Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Securities Fraud Class Action Against Shutterfly Inc. Regarding Allegedly Misleading Financial Projections; Ninth Circuit Holds...more
On April 10, 2021, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed a securities class action complaint against Norwegian Cruise Lines (“NCL”) relating to the company’s disclosures made as the...more
2020 was another active year for securities litigation in the United States. Federal securities class actions continued to be filed at record levels notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, a number of those newly...more
Despite unprecedented disruptions to the court system from the COVID-19 pandemic, plaintiffs continued to bring securities class actions at elevated levels in 2020 — a sign that filings will remain high in the year ahead....more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between July and October 2020. Class Certification - Cryptocurrency – Definition of a Security - Derivative...more
In its June 10, 2020, opinion in Nguyen v. Endologix, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit applied the plausibility standard to a plaintiff’s securities fraud claims and affirmed the district court’s dismissal,...more
Last month, a Seventh Circuit panel unanimously affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment dismissing a consumer class action alleging that Fruit of the Earth and its retailer clients deceptively labeled aloe...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recent activity within the federal Courts of Appeals this spring may prompt Supreme Court resolution of a central and unsettled issue concerning personal jurisdiction in the class-action context causing...more
On February 25, 2020, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of shareholders’ securities-fraud class action against the Western Union Company (“Western Union”) and several of its current and former executive...more
A New Jersey federal judge recently applied Tennessee and California law in dismissing a proposed class action concerning allegedly leaky water heater sensors/valves (valves) made by Honeywell International Inc. The decision...more
On September 30, 2019, Judge J. Paul Oetken of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed a putative securities class action brought against a pharmaceutical company and certain of its...more
This quarter’s issue includes summaries and associated court opinions of selected cases principally decided between May and August 2019....more